The  American  Mission  to  Lepers  maintains 
missionary  work  among  the  5,600  lepers  of 
Philippines  who  are  segregated  by  the  gov¬ 
ernment  on  the  island  of  Culion,  forming  the  largest 
leper  colony  in  the  world. 

The  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Paul  Frederick  Jansen,  of 
the  Presbyterian  Foreign  Mission  Board,  are  in 
charge  of  the  Protestant  missionary  work,  which 
has  made  encouraging  progress  in  spite  of  obstacles 
during  the  past  few  years. 

MR.  JANSEN'S  REPORT  FOR  1925 
In  spite  of  wars  and  rumors  of  wars,  the  lep¬ 
rosarium  at  Culion  goes  ahead  with  unabated  en¬ 
ergy  in  all  its  efforts  for  the  amelioration  of  the 
condition  of  the  lepers  entrusted  to  its  care.  There 
seems  to  be  reason  for  the  hope  of  arresting  the 
disease,  and  in  many  cases  of  entirely  curing  the 
patients. ' 

There  have  been  more  patients  sent  to  Culion 
in  the  first  nine  months  of  1925  than  in  the  entire 
year  of  1924,  and  the  total  number  of  residents 
(now  over  5,500)  is  greater  than  in  any  former 
year.  The  eighteen  doctors  and  the  more  than 
twenty  female  and  male  nurses,  with  their  helpers, 
are  most  earnest  and  faithful;  the  pathological 
work  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Wade  and  the 
laboratory  work  under  Dr.  Perkins  are  so  thorough¬ 
ly  and  efficiently  conducted  as  to  excite  the  ad¬ 
miration  of  all.  Doctors  coming  from  India,  Siam, 
China,  Japan  and  America,  who  are  especially  de¬ 
voting  their  time  to  the  treatment  of  lepers,  have 
only  words  of  praise  for  Culion,  and  consider  it 
the  foremost  leprosarium  in  the  world  today.  They 
are  helped  in  their  work  by  the  tests  and  experi¬ 
ments  made  in  Culion. 

The  opposition  to  the  Colony  seems  to  arise 
from  a  desire  to  save  the  great  amount  of  money 
which  an  institution  of  this  size  and  nature  natur¬ 
ally  must  expend.  Some  say  that  leprosy  is  no 
longer  considered  contagious,  and  that  it  is  a  crime 


to  deprive  lepers  of  their  freedom  and  tear  them 
away  from  their  friends  and  relatives,  to  whom 
it  is  said  they  ought  immediately  to  be  restored  as 
a  simple  act  of  humanity.  But  in  spite  of  much 
criticism  of  this  sort,  and  in  spite  of  lack  of  funds 
to  do  still  more  effective  work,  the  institution  is 
going  on  with  increasing  hope  of  usefulness  and 
success. 

NEGATIVE  PATIENTS 
Formerly  the  lepers  looked  forward  with  a  feel- 
ing  of  exultation  to  the  day  when,  after  their  pro- 
bationary  period  of  negativeness  was  over,  they 
would  be  able  to  rejoin  their  friends.  But  in  most 
instances  their  joy  was  short-lived.  When  they 
had  been  released  their  friends  and  relatives  were 
more  or  less  afraid  of  associating  with  them.  They 
had  to  live  by  themselves,  and  eat  by  themselves. 
Unless  they  could  in  a  short  time  secure  work  they 
were  made  to  feel  that  they  were  an  unwelcome 
burden,  and  a  number  were  even  turned  out  from 
their  homes.  Many  requests  have  been  received  by 
the  authorities  from  discharged,  cured  lepers,  for 
permission  to  return  to  Culion  to  end  their  days. 
All  these  reports  have  sobered  the  lepers,  so  that 
now  many  of  them  dread  the  time  when  they  must 
leave  the  Colony  and  go  out  to  meet  a  world  that 
is  stony  and  cold  toward  them  because  they  were 
once  lepers. 

RELIGIOUS  ACTIVITIES 
The  special  work  entrusted  to  our  care  has  been 
deepening  and  growing,  and  has  developed  along 
various  lines  so  as  now  to  require  more  and  more 
time. 

Let  me  speak  first  of  the  distinctively  spiritual 
part.  The  services  are  so  well  attended  that  we 
wonder  already  how  in  another  year  our  Church 
building  will  accommodate  the  regular  congrega¬ 
tion.  Our  total  number  of  adult  members  is  now 
four  hundred  forty-one,  and  we  have  about  fifty 
children  and  many  adherents  besides. 

About  one  hundred  and  seventy  were  added  on 
profession  of  faith  during  the  past  year,  and  thank 
God.  very  few  have  to  be  dismissed  from  the 
church.  But  we  have  a  number  of  deaths  yearly, 
and  also  a  number  go  out  cured. 

Besides  the  regular  Sunday  services  in  the  Col¬ 
ony  chapel,  the  conduct  of  which  is  shared  by  the 


missionaries  with  pastor  Mauricio,  and  the  evening 
service  with  some  of  our  preaching  elders,  there 
are  services  held  in  the  leper  villages  of  Pilapil 
and  Baldad.  The  first  is  about  one  hour  distant 
from  the  main  settlement,  the  other  over  the  moun¬ 
tains  about  two  hours  from  Culion  city.  In  the 
latter  place  the  brethren  have  built  their  own 
chapel.  In  the  former  they  have  all  the  materials 
gathered  for  a  chapel,  which  will  be  begun  as  soon 
as  permission  is  granted  from  the  central  office. 
These  services  and  Sunday  Schools  in  connection 
with  them  are  conducted  by  regularly  appointed 
members  of  the  Session  of  the  Culion  Church. 
Pastor  Mauricio  conducts  also  a  Sunday  School 
and  a  Sunday  afternoon  service  in  El  Jardin,  (The 
Garden)  a  village  for  non-leper  employees,  who 
have  helped  to  build  him  a  house  there  and  who 
have  likewise  just  finished  a  chapel  for  their  serv¬ 
ices.  (Pastor  Mauricio  is  himself  a  discharged 
leper  patient.) 

Mrs.  Jansen  and  I  hold  a  service  in  English  for 
the  staff  in  our  home  in  Balala  every  Sunday 
night,  preceded  by  a  Christian  Endeavor  service, 
both  of  which  seem  to  have  created  quite  a  little 
interest.  During  the  week  there  arc  workers'  meet¬ 
ings  and  conferences,  several  prayer  meetings,  a 
Sunday  School  teachers’  class,  and  occasional  other 
services,  besides  house  and  hospital  visitations,  and 
so  on. 

One  of  our  most  important  meetings  is  the  work¬ 
ers’  meeting  on  Monday  afternoon.  We,  as  work¬ 
ers,  are  strictly  prohibited  rfrom  general  propa¬ 
ganda,  and  so  our  members  are  trained  to  do  this 
work,  which  they  do  very  efficiently.  W^e  have 
about  forty  voluntary  members  on  our  list  of 
workers.  The  field  is  divided  into  eleven  districts, 
each  under  the  supervision  of  a  Superintendent, 
and  the  rest  of  the  workers  arc  assigned  to  assist 
in  the  different  districts.  We  meet  and  give  our 
reports,  present  any  difficulties  that  may  have  aris¬ 
en,  and  between  us  help  to  solve  them.  We  pray 
by  name  for  specially  interested  ones,  and  report 
on  the  spiritual  condition  of  members  in  each  dis 
trict.  We  find  this  service  inspirational. 

The  Sunday  school  has  been  recently  reorgan¬ 
ized,  and  now  has  twenty-one  classes,  with  mem¬ 
bers  young  and  old.  Four  dialects  are  used.  Each 


teacher  is  made  to  feel  his  personal  responsibility 
for  the  members  spiritually,  and  the  members  are 
held  responsible  for  regularity  of  attendance,  and 
for  increase  in  the  numbers  of  the  school.  A 
healthy  rivalry  between  classes  is  stimulated  by 
awarding  banners  monthly  for  the  best  attendance, 
the  greatest  increase,  and  the  best  offerings. 

THE  DORMITORIES  AND  HOSPITAL 

Our  interest  in  the  lepers  is  not  on  the  spiritual 
side  alone,  but  also  in  their  physical  welfare.  Our 
four  dormitories  for  women,  the  one  for  men  and 
boys,  and  the  small  house  for  negatives  are  prov¬ 
ing  to  be  great  blessings  to  the  inmates.  These 
were  built  by  gifts  from  friends. 

But  the  greatest  benefit  of  all  has  come  this  past 
year  in  the  finishing  of  the  new  Hospital  for  Pro- 
testant  lepers,  and  a  larger  physical  blessing  has 
evidently  never  come  to  them.  The  hospital  was 
opened  on  August  30th  with  a  happy  program. 
Incessant  rain  and  continuing  storm  had  prevented 
the  ceremony  the  Sunday  before.  So  in  spite  of 
a  still  worse  storm  we  decided  not  to  postpone  the 
celebration  longer. 

All  the  chief  officers  of  the  Colony  were  present. 
The  Director,  Dr.  Chiyuto,  spoke  well;  also  the 
Chief  Physician,  Dr.  Rodriguez,  and  Dr.  Wade, 
Dr.  Jugueta  and  Dr.  Major  Hitching  of  the  U.  S. 
Army  Corps.  Others  present,  who  would  have 
spoken  if  there  had  been  time,  were  Dr.  Perkins 
and  Dr.  de  Vera,  and  two  other  visiting  doctors — 
Drs.  Cadbury  and  Siddell  of  Canton  Christian  Col¬ 
lege.  The  women’s  ward  was  filled  with  our 
people. 

I  took  the  opportunity  to  tell  the  audience  that 
the  Hospital  had  come  as  a  concrete  answer  to  the 
prayer  of  faith,  especially  on  the  part  of  the  leper 
brethren.  They  themselves  gave  all  they  had 
toward  it,  and  then  looked  to  God,  who  did  not 
fail  them.  Money  for  it  came  from  sources  that 
we  could  not  have  dreamed  of — friends  whom 
we  have  never  heard  of,  and  in  all  probability 
shal  never  meet  on  earth,  from  New  Zealand, 
Central  Africa,  India,  Siam,  China,  England, 
America.  We  never  knew  from  the  beginning 
wheAer  we  could  go  any  further  in  building  than 
the  next  step.  Yet  we  never  had  to  stop  wor- 


entirely,  no  debts  were  incurred,  and  all  bills  are 
paid. 

It  is  true  that  we  still  lack  a  ceiling,  and  must 
paint,  but  all  pronounce  the  hospital  lovely  and 
airy  and  convenient.  The  hospital  has  two  wards, 
Emergency  IV  for  women,  Emergency  V  for  men, 
each  with  twenty  beds,  with  nurses  room,  separate 
baths  and  service  rooms  between.  Both  wards 
were  full  from  the  beginning.  We  have  a  Pro¬ 
testant  house  doctor  and  head  nurse,  and  all  the 
leper  nursing  aids  are  Protestants.  Our  church 
members  as  a  last  gift  made  a  beautiful  bed  table 
for  each  patient,  something  all  the  Hospitals  here 
have  longed  for,  but  which  none  of  them  has  as 
yet  but  ours.  The  hospital  is  such  a  restful,  happy 
place — we  wish  you  could  all  see  it. 

TRADE  SCHOOLS 

Ever  since  we  have  been  in  Culion  we  have  felt 
the  necessity  of  getting  our  young  men  and  boys 
especially  some  occupation.  It  is  detrimental  to 
have  them  pass  their  days  in  idleness  and  brooding. 
They  were  as  a  rule,  however,  opposed  to  any 
effort  of  this  kind.  Hope  and  courage  were  at  a 
low  ebb,  their  physical  condition  poor,  and  fever 
and  reactions  from  treatments  a  frequent  occur¬ 
rence.  But  things  are  changing.  We  have  been 
able  to  start  a  tailor  shop,  where  a  number  of 
young  men  are  being  taught  by  a  first  class  tailor. 
He  is  not  a  member,  and  for  years  we  were  un¬ 
able  to  secure  an  instructor.  The  shop  is  going  on 
well  now.  It  is  located  in  the  basement  of  our 
church. 

A  much  larger  number  of  boys  wanted  to  learn 
carpentering,  and  we  have  found  a  very  good  in¬ 
structor  for  them  also,  though  we  have  to  wait  a 
bit,  until  we  can  employ  him,  not  being  able  to 
pay  the  tailor  and  the  carpenter  at  the  same  time. 
In  the  mean  time,  the  boys  themselves  are  building 
their  carpenter  shop,  and  while  in  Manila  I  tried  to 
raise  money  for  tools  for  the  shop.  I  wondered 
whom  I  could  approach — there  are  always  so  many 
drives  on.  But  as  I  was  conferring  with  Mr. 
Turner,  Executive  Secretary  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
he  said,  "You  give  me  the  list  of  tools  needed,  Mr. 
Jansen  and  I  will  see  about  that.”  So  that  is  that. 
Some  call  it  luck.  I,  who  know  the  lepers,  think 
that  it  is  God  as  always,  answering  their  prayers. 


FURLOUGHS 


We  have  been  missing  Mrs.  Jansen  since  June 
this  year.  No  one  can  quite  fill  her  place.  The 
patients  are  longing  for  her  Bible  classes,  for  her 
presence  in  the  prayer  meeting,  for  her  personal 
sympathy  and  interest,  and  for  her  supervision  of 
the  women  and  girls.  She  is  having  her  furlough 
this  year,  and  will  return  in  the  spring,  when  I 
propably  shall  be  taking  mine.  Everybody  is  so 
busy  that  no  one  could  be  spared  in  our  absence 
to  take  our  place  in  Culion,  which  is  far  removed 
from  all  the  rest  of  the  field.  So  it  seemed  best 
for  us  to  go  one  at  a  time. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

PAUL  FREDERICK  JANSEN. 

NOTE:  The  Mission  to  Lepers  has  been  sup¬ 
porting  religious  work  among  the  lepers  in  San 
Lazaro,  the  receiving  hospital  for  lepers  in  Manila, 
before  they  are  sent  to  Culion,  and  at  Culion  for 
more  than  fifteen  years,  The  first  Chapel  was  built 
about  1915  and  was  enlarged  in  1924.  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  P.  F.  Jansen  volunteered  for  service  on  Culion 
in  1921,  when  the  Mission  to  Lepers  built  for  them 
a  house  there  costing  $5,000,  and  provided  a  budget 
of  $2,800  a  year.  .The  activities  have  greatly  in¬ 
creased,  and  a  larger  support  must  be  provided. 


Any  contributions  for  the  Leper  Mission  work  in 
the  Philippiggs  or  other  countries,  should  be  made 
payable  to  Fleming  H.  Revell,  Tceas» 
and  sent  to 

THE  AMERICAN  MISSION  TO  LEPERS 
156  Fifth  Avenue,  New  York  City. 

- -  DIRECTORS  - 

William  Jay  Sohieffelein,  President 
Joseph  C.  Robbins,  Vice-President 
Fleming  H.  Revell,  Treasurer 
William  M.  Danner  Harry  Farmer 

General  Secretaries 

Justin  E.  Abbott  Delavan  L.  Pierson 

W.  E.  Biederwolf  David  McConaughy 

S.  G.  Birnie  George  W.  McCoy,  M.D. 

Wm  I.  Chamberlain  Arthur  B.  Moss 
Mrs.  May  Leonard  Woodruff 


